GROUNDUP
Watch — EFF, ANC fracas brings COCT council meeting to standstill over JP Smith handling of taxi crisis
But the controversial Mayco Member received a standing ovation from DA members for his handling of the taxi strike.
A City of Cape Town council meeting on Thursday was disrupted before it even began, by EFF council members chanting: “Down with JP Smith” and “Bring back the taxis”.
JP Smith is the Mayco Member for Safety and Security.
The EFF members held up placards and made their way to the centre of the council chamber, confronting Smith. At the same time, DA councillors surrounded Smith to protect him. Some EFF members were forcefully removed by law enforcement and security.
Good party had requested a special sitting on the taxi industry a few days ago. This was denied by the speaker. Nevertheless, a debate on the taxi industry had been scheduled for later on Thursday, as part of the regular sitting of the council. The difference in the special and regular sitting is that each person would have more time to speak in a special sitting, rather than the standard two minutes.
After the EFF disruption, the debate on the taxi industry was taken to the 5th floor of the civic centre. The EFF and the ANC, which had also taken part in the disruption, were barred from the 5th floor meeting.
Other opposition parties were invited to join the meeting on the 5th floor but, in the ensuing chaos, many weren’t present when Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis began his address.
Hill-Lewis told the meeting: “I want to thank those parties that supported the local government in the strike. Thank you to the support also from communities — from taking people to work to letting people sleep over. These acts showed us the best of what Cape Town is.”
Read more in Daily Maverick: Santaco gained nothing from taxi strike – instead, everyone lost, mainly the poor, says Cape Town mayor
Santaco called a taxi on strike on 3 August in response to taxis being impounded by law enforcement. In his address, Hill-Lewis said taxis were not impounded for malicious reasons. He said impounding took place under the National Land Transport Act (NLTA) and Operating Licence Conditions. He said Santaco had made unreasonable demands, including permission to drive on yellow and red lines.
“Violence has been a tactic of the taxi industry for decades and it will continue to be as long as it is enabled,” he said.
“The biggest elephant in the room was a lack of a passenger rail service. The MyCiTi and Golden Arrow bus services were stretched to the limit as they tried to make up some of the shortfall. And while our trains should’ve been ferrying tens of thousands of commuters home, Cape Town Station was a ghost town thanks to the collapse of Metrorail,” Hill-Lewis added.
On Wednesday Good Councilor Jonathan Cupido, said his party was disappointed that a special meeting was denied. “The Taxi stay away led to five deaths, property was damaged, food security was threatened and once again it was the poor and working-class who were left suffering.”
“Good does not condone the violent action that played out on the streets of the city but we need answers to what led us to this point,” Cupido said.
However, on Thursday Good condemned the EFF for disrupting the council meeting.
In Thursday’s debate, Cupido said: “Reckless statements by JP Smith and supported by the mayor was a clear example of lack of leadership. We need a City that will engage the taxi industry … based on a business plan.”
Marvin Christians of the ACDP called for an independent investigation into the strike. “Those responsible need to be held accountable.” The mayor agreed with Christians and said the cost of the strike action was being tallied and civil action was being considered.
Councilor Shameemah Salie of the Al Jama-ah party said: “The strike and destruction of property could all have been avoided.”
“How the heck does a leader threaten to impound 25 vehicles for every vehicle damaged?” she asked, referring to a widely criticised threat Smith made when the strike started.
Smith received a standing ovation from DA councillors towards the end of the debate. He said that only one taxi is impounded for every 500 fines given.
“We will continue to impound because it is the right thing to do,” Smith said, but noted this would only be for the most serious offences. He said in the last few months the City had received 23,000 complaints from the public on taxis.
In a press briefing after the debate, Hill-Lewis said: “There have been a series of good discussions [with Santaco] this week.” There is to be a three-day imbizo on the taxis with officials from the City, Province, and Santaco next week. DM
First published by GroundUp.
Become an Insider
The EFF and ANC really will fight tooth and nail to ensure their member are unacceptable to the basic law
I wonder how much of Juju’s VBS money is invested in taxis, especially in Cape Town? And Floyd, and Brian, and….
Has that recalcitrant Minister of Transport supplied ANY proof that taxis were impounded illegally?
All this HooHa from the eff and anc shows that the truth and right won the battle! Hilarious!
I think the point that is missed, and possibly shouldn’t be, is that JP Smith should not be involved in delicate negotiations…
Would the outcome have been different…?
Maybe the taxi strike is all part of a political ploy to undermine the Western Cape
Watch how they do their damndest to cause unrest before the elections next year.
Ministers of police and transport supporting the taxis suggests that maybe there is a hidden agenda
And maybe parliamentarians have investments in the taxi industry
Lots of skullduggery of which the anc are past masters
You’re right. It doesn’t matter how the CoCT had handled the taxi situation, all the these twits needed was the slightest crack to put their knives in to try get some leverage and attract enough attention to make a noise about it. They should rather stick to flip-flopping. It’s what they’re best at.
what do you mean maybe! anc has been doing that since they lost the WC, first with hollowing out the police, then rail . . .
council chambers (and national assembly) should be re-designed with individual booths for representatives with sound proofed acrylic domes that can be lowered over the booth (and mic switched off) in the case of representatives who can’t behave during proceedings. Members who have been sanctioned previously get escorted to their booth and “sealed in” prior to other memebrs ariving (and if late, sorry go home).
Well done DA. Well done COCT.
Keep up the good fight for rule of law!
Racist ANC and EFF!
‘Impound’ them also and let Zuma (their handler) pay R6000 each to release them!
They have been
brainwashed to harass, blackmail, burn, destroy and disrupt.
That’s the reason why Africa has been poor and backward for 1000 years?
Well done DA. Those cockroaches and their puppet boys never add value to anything. And Al Jama-ah mouse party also squeaking in the background. Haha!!
The taxi drivers think they are a law unto themselves and the fact that, until now, nobody has taken them on proves them right! Anarchy
EFF and ANC are fixated with “race”, be it related to colour or taxis.
It’s all they have.
So sad to see how the DA precipitated this costly strike like the apartheid government did in 1976 trying to force black school students to be taught in Afrikaans. And then they further undermine democracy with their refusal to openly debate the issue, or do so unilaterally. Are they any better than the taxi’s, ANC and EFF they point their fingers at? This is, surely, no way to resolve the real problems.
For heavens sake, how can you not get it. Without ENFORCED law there is nothing.
I seriously worry about the IQ of people in this country.
Blacks hating whites, boring! Isnt even news any more. The ANC and the EFF would rather be kings of rubble than share in rags.
To Good councilor Jonathan Cupido who said “Good does not condone the violent action that played out on the streets of the city but we need answers to what led us to this point.” What led us to this point is bad faith from the taxi industry, in my view.
The remark of JP Smith was unfortunate, arrogant and an unlawful threat. If you want to meet force with force you do what is legal and you do not make stupid remarks which in this case did inflame the situation. The Mayor was very diplomatic when he responded to questions about what the Mayco Member said.
We will not achieve a lasting taxi solution if we do not talk to one another and if we do not understand the challenges on both sides. Good leadership should know this and embrace it.
In an ideal world I would want to see Santaco (and others) self-regulate with support from the city to enforce that and I would want to see the criminal opportunists removed from the picture. Santaco members and leadership know about these opportunists.
We must also understand that there are Mafia’s operating in different economic spheres in the Western Cape. I will be astonished to find that they are not in the Taxi Industry as well. if that is the case it may threaten the safety and security of taxi bosses and owners. This is a deeper problem, but one that we cannot ignore.
It would be good for the Mayco member and colleagues to take a walk with the Santaco members so that they can talk and get to know each other. If we need to find a new Mayco member that can do this, then it must be done. The Mayor is in charge and I am sure that he would not want a repeat of this confrontation.
May this walking and talking happen soon!
Well at least this confirms the ANC and EFF coalition in the next election, once and for all. Not only that , they have targeted the DA and the tax and rate payers of the Western Cape specifically…..expect more disturbing burning of municiple buildings/ schools/ universities/ libraries/ busses and fynbos….The gauntlet has been well and truly thrown down!
The ANC and EFF don’t really care about the safety of poor black and colored commuters who ride these unroadworthy vehicles and risk injury or death in so doing.
They offer no solution whatsoever to problems faced by motorists and other road users from the reckless impunity and thuggery of taxi drivers.
Not once have they condemned the destruction of public and private property and the totally unwarranted burning of Golden Arrows buses whenever they are aggrieved with anything. Shame on you ANC/EFF, you are clearly not fit to govern.
I commend the CoCT’s decision to sue SANTACO for every cent of damages suffered by any party during the so-called strike. They will think twice in future before they engage in such thuggery.
Good suggestion by a Andrew Farrer to prevent any political party from disrupting a council meeting using toy toying or other theeatening methods.
Being the bully on the playground is the eff and anc default position. They should try evolving by adulting for a change.
Yip, the security of an acrylic dome is a necessary precaution to ensure constructive council meetings.
DA=Effective government and governance.